Head and Neck Restraining System

ABSTRACT

A head and neck restraining system is disclosed herein. The system includes a helmet, a neck brace structure, and a tether system. The neck brace structure includes a neck extension that is attached to shoulder extensions. The tether system includes at least one ring structure that is configured to attach to the helmet and a single tether material that slides through the at least one ring. The single tether material is guided along the neck extension and attached to the shoulder extensions. The at least one ring structure is positioned between the neck and shoulder extensions along the single tether material and splits the load on the helmet to the neck extension and the shoulder extension along to the single tether material created by exerted forces.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a nonprovisional patent application of copendingU.S. provisional application entitled, “Tension Neutralizing Tether,”having Ser. No. 61/797,023, filed on Nov. 27, 2012, which is entirelyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to a safety system and, moreparticularly, is related to systems and methods for reducing the forceexerted on a user's head and neck in a restrained torso condition inevent of an accident.

BACKGROUND

A helmet is typically worn to protect the head from injuries, especiallyin high speed competition or recreational vehicles such as race cars,aircraft, boats etc. In low or high speed conditions, a head and neckrestraining system can be implemented to reduce forces exerted on adriver's(user's) head and neck, in event of an accident. For example, inU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,638,510, 6,009,566, and 7,017,194, a head and neckrestraining system includes a stiff U-shaped shoulder yoke with a highcollar that is tethered to a user's helmet by at least one tether. Eachtether is attached to the helmet and the high collar in a horizontalplane, resulting in a lateral load transfer and creating a conditionwhere the helmet and the head and neck restraint is cantilevered at thetether-helmet attachment points.

Desirable in the art is an improved head and neck restraining systemthat would improve upon the conventional head and neck restrainingsystem.

SUMMARY

A new head and neck restraining system is disclosed herein. The systemincludes a helmet, a neck brace structure, and a tether system. The neckbrace structure includes a neck extension that is attached to shoulderextensions. The tether system includes at least one ring structure thatis configured to attach to the helmet and a single tether material thatslides through the at least one ring. The single tether material isguided along the neck extension and attached to the shoulder extensions.There is at least one ring structure positioned between the neck andshoulder extensions along the single tether material and splits the loadfrom the helmet to the neck extension and the shoulder extension alongto the single tether material.

Other systems, devices, and features of the invention will be or willbecome apparent to one skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing figures and detailed description. It is intended that all suchsystems, devices, and features be included within the scope of theinvention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, the reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. While several embodiments are described inconnection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit thedisclosure to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, andequivalents.

FIG. 1 is a side view that illustrates an embodiment of a neck and headsystem having a tethering system and a neck brace structure;

FIG. 2 is a rear side view that illustrates an embodiment of a head andneck tethering system having a tethering system, such as that shown inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view that illustrates an embodiment of atethering system, such as that shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary systems are first discussed with reference to the figures.Although these systems are described in detail, they are provided forpurposes of illustration only and various modifications are feasible.After the exemplary systems are described, examples of a tetheringsystem are provided to explain the manner in which the force exerted ona user's head and neck is reduced.

FIG. 1 is a side view that illustrates an embodiment of a neck and headsystem 100 having a tethering system 105 and a neck brace structure 110.The tethering system 105 tethers a helmet 115 to the neck bracestructure 110. The helmet 115 is a structure that a head of a user isenclosed therein. The helmet 115 can restrain the head under high impactor load when tethered to a neckbrace, held in place by the seatbelts.The neck brace structure 110 is contoured to a user's neck and includesa neck extension 120 that contains the routing channel for the tether.The neck extension 120 is attached to shoulder extensions 125 that arelateral flares with respect to the neck extension 120. The shoulderextensions 125 are contoured and rest on the left and right sides of auser's shoulders in a restrained torso condition in a vehicle withshoulder harness style seatbelt 150. In this example, the shoulderharness style seatbelt incorporating two shoulder belts 150 are placedon top of the shoulder extensions 125.

The tethering system 105 tethers the helmet 115 to the neck bracestructure 110. The tethering system 105 includes ring structures 130that are attached to the helmet 115 by way of, for example, bolts andnuts, integral to the helmet 115 or a latching system. The tetheringsystem 105 further includes a single tether material 135 that slidesthrough the ring structures 130. The single tether material 135 is aflexible, strong material that can withstand the loads required for thisapplication. This tether material is made from but is not limited to, atleast one of the following: Kevlar, polyester, Nylon webbing, rope,strap and cable.

The single tether material 135 can be guided and slide along the neckextension 120 and is attached to the shoulder extensions 125 via a fixedend mount points 145, such as a bolt and nut. In this example, thesingle tether material 135 starts and ends on opposite sides of the neckbrace structure 110 at fixed end mount points 145. The single tethermaterial 135 wraps around the outer surface near a top portion of theneck extension 120 and is routed through fixed points at the helmet 115that can be positioned at or near the lower center of the left and rightside of the helmet 115.

The fixed end mount points 145 can be positioned at a location of theshoulder extensions 125 that is near the neck extension 120 and aboveand adjacent to the seatbelts 150. In other words, the fixed end mountpoints 145 can be positioned to the neck brace structure 110 on the leftand the right side at the most forward and lowest position. It should benoted that the closer the fixed end mount points 145 to the seatbelts150 the more efficient the load transfer is from the helmet 115 to theseatbelts 150. Alternatively or additionally, the fixed end mount points145 can be positioned at the bottom of the neck extension 120 near theshoulder extensions 125 or anywhere on the shoulder extensions 125. Thering structure 130 is positioned between the neck and shoulderextensions 120, 125 along the single tether material 135 and is attachedto the helmet 115 at the fixed points.

The helmet 115 can include rotating buckles 140 at the fixed points thatare configured to fasten the ring structure 130 of the tethering system105 to the helmet 115. The single tether material 135 is guided alongthe neck extension 120 and routed through the opening of the ringstructure 130 that is fastened to the helmet via the rotating buckles140, allowing the ring structure 130 to move freely with no interferencefrom the rotating buckle 140 under normal conditions of head movement.The ring structure 130 splits the load 155, 160 from the helmet 115 tothe neck and shoulder extensions 120, 125 through the single tethermaterial 135. The load 165 on the helmet 115 can be distributed tosubstantially the entire neck brace structure 110 and can create loadpaths that split the load on each side of the helmet 115 in halves, forexample. The ring structure 130 allows the tethering system 105 to slideas the head and helmet 115 move in the direction of the exerted forces.This has the effect of equalizing the load 160 on the fixed end mountpoints 145 and the load 105 to each side of 120, creating four equalload paths.

The single tether material 135 is routed through the opening of the ringstructure 130 and attached to the fixed end mount 145 on the shoulderextension 125, positioning the ring structure 13 between the neck andshoulder extensions 120, 125. In event of an accident the drivers(users) body is held in place by the seat belts 150. The neck bracestructure is held in place under the left and right shoulder belts ofthe seat belts. The head of the driver (user) is restrained from movingtowards the direction of the impact in an excessive distance from theupper torso by the tethering system 105 that is attached to the neckbrace structure 110 and the helmet 115, in effect becoming a seatbeltfor the head. The resultant load from the head moving forward istransferred from the helmet 115 to the neck brace structure 110 via thetethering system 105. The tethering system 105 that is attached to thehelmet 115 equalizes the load, which is dispersed evenly from the helmet115 through four load paths 155, 160 on the neck brace structure 110.

FIG. 2 is a rear side view that illustrates an embodiment of a neck andhead system 100 having a tethering system 105, such as that shown inFIG. 1. In this example, the single tether material 135 of the tetheringsystem 105 can be attached to the shoulder extensions 125 of the neckbrace structure 110 on each end 205, 210 of the single tether material135. The ends 205, 210 can be attached with an O-ring tongue 215 that isconfigured to fasten to fixed end mount points 145 of the shoulderextensions 125, allowing the O-ring tongue 215 to swivel such that thetethering system 105 can self-align in the direction of the force.

By attaching the ends 205, 210 of the single tether material 135 to theleft and right shoulder extensions 125, positioning the ring structure130 between the neck and shoulder extensions 120, 125 and attaching thering structure 130 to the helmet 115 at the fixed points, the tetheringsystem 105 is a continuous loop between the shoulder extensions 125,creating a double line pulley effect on the ring structure 130 where theloads 155, 160 can be divided in halves.

This arrangement provides four load paths 155, 160 to the neck and headrestraining system 100. In a collision, the user's head and helmet 115are forced in the direction of the impact. The tension can betransferred equally through the shell of the helmet 115 to the ringstructures 130 attached at the fixed points on the helmet 115. The load165 can be split equally from left to right and upper to lower by way ofthe ring structure 130. A portion of the load 160 is transferred to thefixed end mount points 145 on one of the shoulder extensions 125 and theother portion of the load 155 is transferred to the neck extension 120.This can result in a load 165 that can be distributed equally throughoutthe single tether material 135 to the neck brace structure 110 and tothe seatbelts 150 which encapsulate the neck and head restraining system100. The load 165 can be distributed in most directions or in anydirection that the head and helmet 115 moves forward or sideward.

If the load 165 on the helmet 115 is 4,000 lbs., a load of 2,000 lbs.can be distributed to each sides of the helmet 115. At each side of thehelmet, a load 155, 160 of 1,000 lbs. can be distributed to each of theneck and shoulder extensions 120, 125 in a double line pulley by way ofthe ring structure 130 and then distributed to the seatbelts 150. Thisfeature allows the load 165 to be distributed equally through the fourload paths 155, 160 at any angle or direction of the force.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view that illustrates an embodiment of atethering system 105, such as that shown in FIG. 2. In this example, thering structure 130 is a D-ring with a tongue 305 that can be attached tothe buckle 140 on the helmet 115. The single tether material 135 slidesalong the neck extension 120 in a tether housing 310 and through thering structures 130 that can be attached to the neck extension 120, thesliding motion of which allows the tethering system 105 toself-neutralize the tension created by exerted forces.

This description has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications orvariations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodimentsdiscussed, however, were chosen to illustrate the principles of thedisclosure, and its practical application. The disclosure is thusintended to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to use thedisclosure, in various embodiments and with various modifications, asare suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modificationsand variation are within the scope of this disclosure, as determined bythe appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth towhich they are fairly and legally entitled.

Therefore, having thus described the disclosure, at least the followingis claimed:
 1. A head and neck restraining system comprising: a helmet;a neck brace structure that includes a neck extension, which is attachedto shoulder extensions; and a tethering system comprising: at least onering structure that is configured to attach to the helmet, and a singletether material that slides through the at least one ring structure,wherein the single tether material is guided along the neck extensionand attached to the shoulder extensions, wherein the at least one ringstructure is positioned between the neck and shoulder extensions andsplits the load on the helmet to the neck extension and the shoulderextension along to the single tether material created by exerted forces.2. The head and neck restraining system as defined in claim 1, whereinat least one ring structure includes a D-ring with a tongue.
 3. The headand neck restraining system as defined in claim 2, wherein the helmetincludes at least one ring buckle that is configured to fasten theD-ring to the helmet via the tongue.
 4. The head and neck restrainingsystem as defined in claim 1, wherein each end of the single tethermaterial is attached to the shoulder extensions of the neck bracestructure.
 5. The head and neck restraining system as defined in claim4, wherein the shoulder extensions includes at least one fixed end mountpoint and each end of the single tether material includes an O-ringtongue that is configured to fasten to the at least one fixed end mountpoint, allowing the O-ring tongue to swivel and enabling the tetheringsystem to self-align in the direction of the force.
 6. The head and neckrestraining system as defined in claim 1, wherein the single tethermaterial is a flexible, strong material, the tether material includes atleast one of the following: Kevlar, polyester, Nylon webbing, rope,strap and cable.
 7. The head and neck restraining system as defined inclaim 1, wherein the single tether material slides along the neckextension, allowing the tethering system to self-neutralize the tensioncreated by exerted forces.
 8. A tethering system that is used in a headand neck restraining system comprising: at least one ring structure thatis configured to attach to a helmet; and a single tether material thatslides through the at least one ring, wherein the single tether materialis guided along a neck extension and attached to a shoulder extensionsof a neck brace structure, wherein the at least one ring structure ispositioned between the neck and shoulder extensions and splits the loadon the helmet to the neck extension and the shoulder extension along tothe single tether material created by exerted forces.
 9. The tetheringsystem as defined in claim 8, wherein at least one ring structureincludes a D-ring with a tongue.
 10. The tethering system as defined inclaim 8, wherein each end of the single tether material is configured toattach to the shoulder extensions of the neck brace structure.
 11. Thetethering system as defined in claim 10, wherein each end of the singletether material includes an O-ring tongue that is configured to fastento at least one fixed end mount point of the shoulder extensions,allowing the O-ring tongue to swivel and enabling the tethering systemto self-align in the direction of the force.
 12. The tethering system asdefined in claim 8, wherein the single tether material is a flexible,strong material, the tether material includes at least one of thefollowing: Kevlar, polyester, Nylon webbing, rope, strap and cable. 13.The tethering system as defined in claim 8, wherein the single tethermaterial is configured to slide along the neck extension, allowing thetether system to self-neutralize the tension created by exerted forces.